Some might claim that role for Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, another cocky, swaggering rock frontman. But Tyler has always lacked Johansen’s wit, daring and knack for reinventing himself.

Johansen introduced himself to America in full drag, fronting the New York Dolls, the group that had more direct influence on the early New York punk rock scene than any other. By the late ’70s, he was a respected solo artist, writing with force and humor about New York and drawing inspiration from pop and disco. Then came his most improbable reinvention — into Buster Poindexter, a lounge lizard singing standards, old R&B and world music.

As Poindexter, Johansen scored a big hit with “Hot Hot Hot,” a remake of an international soca blockbuster. And while Johansen has occasionally expressed frustrated bemusement at the popularity of “Hot Hot Hot” — and its inescapability at weddings and birthday parties — he looks back at the Poindexter experience with the same fondness he has for the rest of his long and groundbreaking run.

“Doing those songs was really enjoyable,” says Johansen, 62. “I’ve never thought about being influential or anything like that. I just thought about making music. If you’re trying to do something other than just what’s coming naturally, it becomes like a job. Then it’s no fun to do anymore.”

Poindexter was the most lucrative stage role for a man who loves to play them. Johansen was meant for the stage, and knows it: In concert, he can act his way through a narrative with the skill of a Broadway star.

On Saturday, he’ll present a rare acoustic show with guitarist Brian Coonan at one of New Jersey’s last bastions of punk rock authenticity — the Brighton Bar in Long Branch. He’ll draw from four decades of material, including the new songs he’s written for the resurrected version of the Dolls he’s been fronting ever since Morrissey, a huge fan of the band, convinced the three surviving members to reunite for a London rock festival in 2004.

“That led to a few other shows,” says Johansen. “Before we knew it, we were together for a year. We decided, well, let’s just go ahead and make a record.”

That record was “One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This,” the first new music from the New York Dolls since 1974. The album sounded like the Dolls, but the lyrics were some of the most ambitious the band had ever written. Johansen was still interested in parties, sex and the streets of New York, but also sang about transcendence and divinity.

“One Day” won the Dolls a new audience; “Cause I Sez So,” the 2009 follow-up, did nothing to stall the group’s second wind. All the while, Johansen stayed true to the group’s original approach, banging out songs as quickly as possible and not worrying too much about sonic fidelity.

“Some people love to be in the studio,” says Johansen, “but I don’t see any reason to be in there for weeks. If you’re in a band that plays live all the time, like the Dolls, when it’s time to make a record you’ve got to stop what you’re doing and start a completely new thing. I like to get it over with.”

The Dolls hired Todd Rundgren, who produced their first album, to do the same for “Cause I Sez So.” Rundgren has a reputation for perfectionism, but Johansen says the legendary producer didn’t try to impose his will on the group. “I don’t think we said 10 sentences to Todd while we were making the album. He just kind of records the band. … He’s got his own technique of listening to each instrument when he’s mixing, and tweaking it so that it sounds right. Other than that, he was more like an engineer than a producer.”

“Dancing Backward in High Heels” — something that Johansen did plenty of times in the early ’70s — is the latest album by the reformed band and, in many ways, the loosest one the Dolls ever have cut. Mostly written while it was being recorded, “Dancing” makes Johansen’s early influences overt: girl groups, doo wop, trashy ’60s pop, even musical theater.

The Dolls’ second act has lasted longer than its first. But while the new albums are rewarding, they’re not likely to inspire a generation of musicians the way the first two did. Early Dolls music retains its swagger and punch, and still sounds and feels like no other band. But Johansen says he was never overawed in the studio while listening to the playback.